6 o8 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 14, 1907. 
It would then fill the pots with roots before 
winter. It should riot be difficult to get, 
and the 'best plan, as a rule, is to ask your 
nurseryman to get it for you if he does not 
grow it himself. We know that it is cata¬ 
logued by Messrs. J. Veitch and Sons, Chel¬ 
sea, London. 
COLD FRAMES. 
2181. Propagating: Double Lobelia. 
I have some plants of Lobelia (a double 
variety), but do not know the name. Will 
you kindly tell me how to propagate them ? 
(W. J. S., Essex.) 
Very likely your double Lobelia is Kath¬ 
leen Mallard, which has dark blue, quite 
double flowers, and makes a dense bushy 
specimen. It is propagated in the same way 
a9 the ordinary varieties of bedding Lobelia 
erinus. Cuttings of unflowered shoots in¬ 
serted firmly in sandy soil root in a very 
short time. Your best plan would be to 
fill some 3 in. pots with a light sandy com¬ 
post and place a layer of sand over the top. 
Water this soil with the rosed watering pot 
and after standing an hour to drain away 
the moisture, dibble in the cuttings, Vater 
again and place the pots in a cold frame. 
The latter, of course, should be kept closed 
for a week or ten days until the cuttings 
show that they are rooted by commencing 
to grow. If there are no shoots on your 
plants, except flowering ones, you should 
cut down a plant or two to encourage the 
development of cuttings. They would be 
rather late and require more heat to make 
them root. They must, of course, be kept in 
a greenhouse from which frost is excluded 
during winter. 
FERNS. 
2182. Ferns Turning Brown. 
I shall be much obliged if you will tell 
me the reasons these leaves turn brown. 
They begin usually at the central vein. 
They came from a fernery where they get 
plenty of moisture, and I find my Maiden¬ 
hair Ferns do beautifully. The glass is 
painted green, so I do not think they get the 
sun at all. The gardener uses the syringe 
when watering. Is that wise? It is only 
my ribbon Ferns that go dark like the en¬ 
closed. The others do very well. (M. 
Livock, Norwich.) 
The Fern fronds you sent us had been at¬ 
tacked with thrips, as they had left their 
marks plainly and some of the insects were 
still on the plant. Your best plan would be 
to make up a solution of sfrong soap-suds, 
adding some tobacco juice to the mixture. 
Lay the Ferns on their 9ides, so that you 
can thoroughly syringe the undersides of 
the leaves. If thi9 is done before leaving 
off work one night, you can then syringe 
them with clean water in the morning. If 
you have a small magnifying lens, you 
should inspect the underside of the fronds 
after twenty-four hours, and if you find any 
insects repeat the operation. Ferns delight 
in plenty of moisture in the atmosphere and 
overhead in fine weather. Your gardener 
should use his discretion, therefore, by be¬ 
ing free with the syringe .in fine weather in 
summer, but when it is wet or very cloudy 
less syrin^ng is necessary. Have plenty of 
moisture in the atmosphere by damping 
down the paths, which would do much to 
keep these pests in check. 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
2183. Hardy, Half-Hardy Plants and 
Annuals. 
Describe the most effective (1) hardy, (2) 
half-hardy, and (3) annual plants for (a) 
spring, (b) summer, and (c) autumn effect, 
giving a list of at least six of the best dis¬ 
tinct plants to use for each season. Would 
you also state how to-arrange the planting 
and the best time to plant ? (An Admirer 
of “ G.W.,” Surrey.) 
Hardy plants for flowering in spring 
would be Christmas Roses, Lenten Roses 
(Helleborus), Snowdrops, Crocuses, Fritil- 
laries, Daffodils, Tulips, Hyacinths-^ Wall¬ 
flowers, Ara-bis, Primroses, Polyanthuses, 
Forget-Me-Not, Chionodoxa, Scillas and 
Doronicum plantagineum. This will bring 
you well up to the beginning of summer. 
Half-hardy plants for spring are rather an 
anomaly, unless you grow them under glass. 
Anything coming under this heading for 
outside would be Polyanthus Narcissi, East 
Lothian Stocks and Brompton Stocks. If 
you require plants to flower in the green¬ 
house in spring let us know. Annuals to 
flower in spring should be sown in the open 
ground at the beginning of August. They 
should include such things as Erysimum per- 
ofskianum, Collinsia bicolor, Cornflower, 
Common Marigold, Silene pendula, Iberis 
amara, I. umbellata, Centaurea atropur- 
purea, Clarkias, Godetias, Coreopsis t'nc- 
toria, Eschscholtzia califoirnica, single and 
double Larkspurs, Lavatera trimestris, Lim- 
nanthes Douglasii and Pansies. The latter 
may be propagated from cuttings in Sep¬ 
tember, but we refer to seed sowing in July 
or early August. Hardy flowers to bloom 
in summer would be Aquilegias or Colum¬ 
bines, Iris germanica, I. pallida, I. p. dal- 
matica, I. Variegata, I. sibirica, I. floren- 
tina, I. amoena, I. aphylla, Erigeron spe- 
ciosus, Chrysanthemum maximum King Ed¬ 
ward VII., Galega officinalis, G. o. alba, 
Pyrethrums, single and double, Delphic 
niums, Trollius, Lupinus polyphyllus, 
Lilies, Paeomies, Spiraea palmata, Helenium 
pumilum, Campanula latifolia, C. 1 . ma- 
crantha, C. persicifolia grandiflora, C. p. 
grandiflora alba, perennial Phloxes, and 
many others. Half-hardy summer flowers to 
be raised in March under glass would be 
Nicotiana affinis, N. Sanderae, East Low- 
thian Stocks, dwarf and tall Nasturtiums, 
Petunias, Verbenas and Gladioli. The last- 
named are, of course, cormSj which should 
be planted out in March. Annuals to bloom 
in summer are Sweet Peas, Poppies, Schizan- 
thus, annual Sunflowers, Phlox Drummondii, 
Statice -sinuata, S. Bonduelli, Alyssum, 
Acroclinium, Malope trifida, Lavatera tri¬ 
mestris, 'Sweet Sultan, Chrysanthemum 
carinaitum, C. coronarium, Linum grandi- 
florum, Clarkias, Godetias, Iberis amara, 1 . 
umbellata, Lychnis Coeli-rosa, Bartonia 
aurea, Centaurea atropurpurea, Collinsia bi¬ 
color, Convolvulus tricolor, double Lark¬ 
spurs, Lupins, Mignonette, Nemophila, etc. 
Hardy autumn flowers would include 
Michaelmas Daisies, Golden Rods (Soli- 
dago), Perennial Sunflowers, single and 
double Hollyhocks, Helenium autumnale, 
Montbretias- and Chrysanthemum uliginosum. 
All the hardy plants mentioned should be 
planted either in September or October or 
March. The bulbs should, of course, be 
planted as early in the autumn as possible. 
Half-hardy flowers to bloom in autumn 
would be Intermediate Stocks, Nasturtiums, 
Dahlias, Gladioli, Petunias, Verbenas, 
Nicotiana Sanderae and Marguerites. In 
this last ligt it is impossible in the space at 
command to say how they should be raised 
and arranged. Some of them are green¬ 
house plants in winter and may be planted 
out in summer ; some of them, such as the 
Nicotiana and Stocks, require to be sown in 
heat in March, while Dahlias have to be pro¬ 
pagated from cuttings, Petunias and Ver¬ 
benas also require propagation from cut¬ 
tings, the first named in a warm or 
heated house, and Verbenas in cold 
frames in autumn. Marguerites should be 
treated like Verbenas. Annuals for autumn 
flowering are common Marigold, Cosmos bi- 
pinnatus, French and African Marigolds, 
Nemesia strumosa Suttoni, Phlox Drn. 
mondii, Senecio elegans, Indian al 
Japanese Pinks (Dianthus sinensis and D.. 
Heddewigii respectively). The Cosns 
should be sown under glass in March, le 
others could be sown in the open air ab<t 
the end of April, so as to get them to bloi 
in autumn. 
2184. Ivy-Leaved Pelargoniums. 
I have an old plant of Ivy Pelargonia 
in a 32 size pot which has bloomed well a 
the open all through the summer. Durg 
the last fortnight it has been losing s 
leaves and is now almost bare. Will ?a 
kindly tell me the cause and the remec? 
(W. J. S., Essex.) 
Either the soil in the pot is exhausted,: 
the roots of the plant, for some cause r 
other, have gone wrong. The lack of :a 
has 'been greatly against this Pelargonin 
throughout the season. Your best pn 
would be to turn out the plant and exame 
the state of the roots. If they are war- 
logged, the chances are that the roots e 
killed. Whichever is the case, we think e 
best plan would be to take the tips of e 
shoots and insert them as cuttings in ps 
of sandy soil. They will root during e 
present an4 next month, and at the end f 
September should be put in a greenhoe 
from which frost is excluded. If the res 
of the old plant are good, then you shod 
cut it fairly hard back, leaving just one.r 
two buds at the 'base of each shoot. Kp- 
it rather dry until it commences to sprit 
again, when it will gradually take nre 
water, unless the weather is very cool ;d 
moist. You can thus have the old plant >r 
next year’s display if the roots are healt T , 
otherwise you will have to depend upon e 
young plants from the cuttings. 
2185. Lifting Irises and Gladioli. 
I had some nice Irises which bloomed 1- 
til quite the end of July. Now the lea:s 
are quite dead and dry. Should I raise ie 
bulbs or not? I also have some re 
Gladioli. May they stay in the ground 11 
the winter? (N. E. C., Kent.) 
■If you require the ground for any p- 
ticular purpose the Irises would have toe 
lifted. If you have no object in liftg 
them and they are not crowded in any w, 
they should be allowed to staw where ty 
are until they begin to deteriorate by |t- 
ting crowded or by producing sma r 
flowers. If you had told us what class! 
Iris they were we should have been be r 
able to discuss the matter. As it is, we p- 
sume they are English Irises and there! e 
bulbs. That being the case, our instruct!is 
will answer the question. If you have 0 
particular object in getting them out of ie 
ground, you should merely cut off the e- 
cayed stems and leaves and pull up 11 
weeds. The more they ripen off the betr, 
and they should make good growth rd 
year. The Gladioli are somewhat differt. 
because they are not perfectly hardy. V 
so-called bulbs are very liable to decay n 
winter, either from wet or from frost, it 
usually owing to the wet condition of ie 
ground. The general plan in most part:! 
the country is to lift the bulbs about ie 
end of 'September or later, according to ie 
nature of the weather. They should >e 
dried off gradually and when the leaves [ r j 
readily from the corms or bulbs, they shod 
be cleaned and stored in a box in a C' r > 
cool place till March, when you can pld 
them out in soil that has been dug. • d 
manured either in autumn or early wind 
It is a moot question whether they-woo 
live in your garden throughout the wind 
but you could make experiments with a 
common and not very valuable vajneid 
and if they live through it you could If e 
more of them in the ground in the follow? 
winter. 
